This blog is about family, including those in my family tree, the primary focus, but also the family of faith, the family of community, and ultimately the family of man. It is a journey of discovery: Who they were, What they did (and Why), and When, Where, and How they lived.

Saturday, January 20, 2018

In the news, Thursday, January 11, 2018

Information from some sites may not be reliable, or may not be vetted.Some sources may require subscription.

________

from Episcopal News Service

Christian groups decry U.S. policy change on Salvadorans as Episcopalians offer supportThe Episcopal Church and ecumenical partner organizations are calling on Congress to act if the Trump administration refuses to reconsider its decision to end immigration protections for nearly 200,000 Salvadorans who have for years been allowed to establish roots and raise families in American communities. At issue is the policy known as Temporary Protected Status, or TPS. The Trump administration has taken a hard line on the policy, saying it never was intended to offer immigrants permanent residency. The status typically is granted to foreign nationals from countries suffering from natural disasters or wars.

________

from FEE(Foundation for Economic Education)

RIGHT-CENTER BIAS, HIGH, non-profit organization

Move Over Ambulances, Uber’s ComingAs a mode of transportation to a hospital when a patients’ illness, injury or affliction precludes them from driving, ambulances are a blunt method that is far from perfect. Patients sometimes find themselves hit with substantial bills or end up at out-of-network hospitals that raise the price of care. Recent policy changes may also be exacerbating the situation, as one study found that the Affordable Care Act slowed ambulance response times by almost 20 percent. According to a new working paper by David J. G. Slusky of the University of Kansas and Leon S. Moskatel of Scripps Mercy Hospital, some people are foregoing ambulances and opting for ride-hailing services instead.

________

from First Things

LIGHT FROM DIRTY HARRY ON BIBLICAL MORALITYActing is what human beings do very well, but only because we do not know how to be ourselves. Opaque to ourselves, we take up roles on cue, as soon as other people feed them to us. We love moralizing roles the best, because they conceal our own inner darkness and lack of integrated identity. If there is any kind of acting that can operate within the biblical vision of the human person, it would be one that sets its face against the human quest for a starring role, or any self-invented role. We would learn to inhabit the anonymous role of the “man with no name,” that is, a name known to God alone.

________

from The Heritage Foundation

RIGHT BIAS, MIXED, think tank in Washington, D.C

The Obstruction of a Vital Election Integrity Commission
President Trump dissolved his Advisory Commission on Election Integrity last week before it could complete its work. The commission’s assignment was to examine the integrity and security of the American election process. It was similar to work done by several prior presidential commissions. This time, however, unprecedented obstruction from many state election officials and partisan “lawfare” made fulfilling our responsibilities virtually impossible.

________

from The Hill

LEFT-CENTER BIAS, MIXED, newspaper in Washington, D.C.

This is how Congress can avoid a bad budget deal for Americans
Congress has passed three continuing resolutions since the beginning of fiscal year 2018. The third one expires Jan. 19, ending federal funding for defense and domestic programs. Given the current funding impasse, Congress can best serve the American people by adopting a continuing resolution for the remainder of the fiscal year and providing for critical defense needs through the use of the overseas contingency account, paid for with domestic spending offsets.

The new soda tax in Seattle might be just the beginning as an effort to take the tax statewide continues in Olympia. House Bill 1975 was introduced last February. It’s floated around the finance committee ever since, not moving any further. But on Jan. 8, a resolution was passed to reintroduce the bill. It is strikingly similar to Seattle’s soda tax law, referencing the health effects of sugar consumption, from tooth decay to obesity. It also notes minorities see twice as many advertisements for sugary drinks.

________

from Psephizo (Blog)

Five essentials of Biblical Interpretation no. 4: content
It might seem an odd thing to say in the context of interpreting the Bible, but as we read we do need to actually attend to what the text says, and not what we think it says. The reason for this is the phenomenon of ‘confirmation bias’; it is well documented, as part of psychological research, that people will see what they want to see in a situation, even if it is not actually there. This is especially the case when looking at something familiar—and many Christians do think that they are looking at something familiar when they are reading the Bible.

________

from The Spokesman-Review

Newspaper in Spokane, Washington

________

from The Wall Street Journal

Climate of Unaccountability
Are foundations running state energy policy without transparency? With President Trump putting economic growth above climate alarums, green activists are turning to progressive states to press their regulatory agenda. Governors from 15 states have formed the U.S. Climate Alliance, for example, to enforce the Paris Climate Agreement despite Mr. Trump’s withdrawal.